Tinea capitis caused by Trichophyton rubrum in two children with extensivedermatophytosis.

Trichophyton rubrum is the predominant causative dermatophyte of cutaneous and nail mycoses. However, it is rarely isolated from the scalp. The author s describe two cases of the tinea capitis due to T. rubrum in a 13-year-old girl and her brother of 8-year-old. Both children were suffering of lamell ar erythrodermic recessive ichtyosis and showed disseminated superficial my cosis. The girl had a large patch of partial alopecia with scale and erythe ma while the boy had a diffuse scaling of the scalp without alopecia. Direc t examination of hair samples revealed an unusual pilar parasitism with end othrix and ecto-endothrix aspects. However, the primary culture and above a ll the culture on slides allowed as to identify T. rubrum.